Class discussion!

Hackers, beware: San José State’s new offerings in cybersecurity and big data just made your job a little harder.

All aspects of our lives have gone digital. There are terabytes upon terabytes of data in cyberspace—in places as varied as Facebook, the National Weather Service and the Department of Homeland Security. And, according to College of Science Dean Michael Parrish, “the more data you have, the easier it is to hack into it.”

Parrish and Sigurd Meldal, chair of the Department of Computer Engineering, are leading San José State’s effort to develop a program that addresses pressing workforce needs in the fields of cybersecurity and big data.

To strengthen the nation’s defense against hackers, the university is taking a unique, interdisciplinary approach, including a cluster hire of nine faculty members in psychology, computer science, engineering, library and information science and management information systems. In classrooms across campus this fall, these new faculty members have joined 20 veteran instructors to teach more than 40 courses in cybersecurity and big data.

Professors are also connecting with industry, federal agencies and national laboratories on internships, research and a road map for addressing emerging issues in security and data science. All of this work is positioning SJSU for future certification as a National Center of Academic Excellence for Information Assurance. For now, San José State is focusing on training students to attack the problem from every conceivable angle.